


Sweet Child Of Mine

by KyeAbove



Series: The Reinforcement Of Agony AU [119]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Past Character Death, Past Child Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 07:22:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14732484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove
Summary: Agony:HellThere were better times for Henry, before tragedy, and he remembers that life fondly.





	Sweet Child Of Mine

**Author's Note:**

> I figured it was high time I touched upon Henry's first biological son a bit more in this AU. So here's the situation.

~Unknown~

* * *

 

When Henry had left the studio, he hadn’t let the Bendy cartoons stop being a part of his life. Even though they were _different,_ Henry loved seeing the shorts before movies.

Henry had seen a lot of posters, for shorts he’d seen, and some he hadn’t. Henry thought them kind, even during terror. They spoke of memories. Good ones.

Felix had loved the Bendy cartoons. They had always been the only part of the show to hold his attention. After each short had finished, he’d cheerfully say ‘Done!’, and then snuggle up against whatever parent was holding him, and sleep for the movie. Maybe, in his mind, the Bendy cartoons were all he was there to see.

Henry hadn’t wanted to give Joey a dime, so Henry had stitched together a Bendy doll for Felix himself. The boy had loved it with all his heart. In turn, that doll had been a permanent feature of Henry’s workspaces for decades. As a reminder, and a curse.

That Bendy doll was a little singed, but Henry liked it that way. _Hated it that way._ But he never found the heart to fix it.

The studio had a massive collection of Bendy dolls, but they were lifeless. Felix’s Bendy doll had something to it, even though it had long since outlived its owner.

“Hmm.” Henry had one of the toys in his hands, lightly squeezing it, causing it to squeak. “It’s a bit cold. Is it made of ink?” That would be rather odd to consider, if it hadn’t been thought of by Joey. Joey, even though he wasn’t the man he liked to claim, could have done it with ease. Done anything. All except see when he was wrong.

“Joey. I don’t know if you’re listening, but if you are...you asked why I wanted to leave, but wouldn’t let me answer. Why? Were you afraid of the answer?” Henry squeezed the toy a little harder. “When I left, you we being too unreasonable, and god, Joey, I would have tried to reason with you more, but…” Once, again, a little harsher, Henry squeezed the toy.

“I think you would have liked him. His name was Felix. After _my father,_ not...well, _that_ other thing might have been a small influence.” Henry smiled despite the pain. “He loved the cartoons you wrote, even the ones I found...tasteless. _I know_ you would have liked him.”

Henry squeezed, and the toy broke, dissolving into ink and coating his hands.

“I actually wish you got to meet him. God knows I wish he was still here.”

Henry didn’t cry. Henry hadn’t cried over Felix in years. He had no more tears left to give. Only an emptiness that could never be filled.

If Henry and Linda hadn’t had to make an appearance at his boss’s party, hadn’t trusted Felix to his aunt, hadn't-

“Joey. You may have lost me, but you don’t know what _loss_ is.”

Henry hoped the Ink Demon heard. At least was seeing Henry defenseless through one of the cutouts in the area. But no threat came. Henry was left alone. This was a time where Henry might have been alright with a chase. Something to distract him from the dark thoughts parading around his mind.

“I shouldn’t have left the safehouse. I shouldn’t have-” If Henry had stayed away from the studio in the first place, he could have kept ignoring or at least been unaware of all the dark parts of his life. What had he accomplished, coming here?

Henry had Sammy in all the ways he’d ever wanted him.

Henry had gotten closure on Wally’s fate. On so many people's fate.

Henry had helped people as much as he could here.

That was something. But in the scheme of things, did it mean _anything?_

It was more than he had in the years before returning, sad as it was, but-

Henry heard a low moan. Henry was on alert immediately, and he turned towards the sound, but was ready to run if he needed to.

It was a Searcher, not too far off. The Searcher moved closer, and they made eye contact. Somehow. Henry flinched, and it stopped. Henry formed an axe with the ink on his hands, and it moved closer. It moved rather softly, but seemed as cautious as Henry was. Henry didn’t attack Searchers unless they attacked him first. It appeared, anyways, that this was a Swollen Searcher, or close enough to hopefully count. They were rarely anything but placid.

Henry held his breath, still on edge, as the Searcher stopped beside him. It was a rather peculiar Searcher, in that it stood out a bit above the rest. An old hat was a top his head, of all things. It was...rather cute.

It meant that this Searcher had found a hat and put it on, and that was some sort of lucidity, wasn’t it? It wouldn’t count for too much, but it was _something._

“Hello.” Henry greeted kindly, holding out his hand.

After some consideration, the Searcher rested his head down on Henry’s hand. A friendly Searcher. Not new, but that didn’t lessen the joy of the moment.

Maybe this was the point of his time here. One of them. The small things, telling him that there were people here. That maybe, he could save them.

At the very least, Henry didn’t want to be the man who greeted his son in the afterlife, and had to tell him that he hadn’t made the most of every moment even without him. Even if the pain never went away.

**Author's Note:**

> Since it's probably not entirely clear, Felix died in a house fire. 
> 
> Secondly, here's Jack. I’m writing this AU with a heavy emphasis on humanity remaining even in ink, however small, so of course I’m adding Jack in. I’ve been planning his part in the plot ever since he showed up in the previews for the new stuff. In this AU, Henry never brought a crate down on Jack. Am I still bitter about having to do that in the game? Yes. So that never happened here, okay? Also, that’s relevant because if Henry had smashed Jack in this AU, Jack wouldn’t be so trusting now.


End file.
